Expert: Roy Wallen - 4/24/2010

Question
QUESTION: Hello, I have a question regarding demons.
If demons are fallen angels, why do they need to posses somebody in order to find rest? It seems from the bible that angelic beings have the ability to materialize or become incarnate. By incarnation I dont mean being born into a human body. I mean being able to take on a physical human form. The angels who visited abraham and lot did it. The angel who appeared to joshua did it. the fallen angels did it in order to mate with women. the angel who rescued the three hebrew boys from the fire did it. Why would a demon need to posses a person when he could just materialize himself?


Thank you for your time.

ANSWER: Demons do not need to possess someone to find rest.  You are right that there are several places in the Bible where angelic beings (both holy angels and fallen angels) appear in some earthly form.  They take on a human form in some cases (as with those who appeared to Abraham and Lot) and take on an animal form in others (as with the serpent in Genesis 3).  The figure who appeared in the furnace with Daniel's friends was probably the preincarnate Christ, as many theologians believe, and not an angel.  
Demons possess people because God allows it, though we often don't know why.  The examples I find in the Bible show demon-possessed people who were not at rest at all (see Mark 1).  In the place where Jesus cast many demons out of a man from Gadera (Matthew 8, Mark 5, and Luke 8), this was a situation where the power of Jesus over demons was demonstrated and He was glorified in this miracle.  This man was hardly at rest, nor were the demons who dwelled in him.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi again. I have another question.
Why did jesus say that when an unclean spirit is cast out, he wanders through dry places seeking rest? What does that mean? (Matthew 12:43-44)

And also, a question about the man who wrestled with jacob. Why does the bible say that the angel " saw that he prevailed not against him" (Genesis 32:25)Why couldn't the angel overpower Jacob?
I would have thought an angel is way more powerful than a man, similar to superman or the hulk(of course they're fictional, but you get the point.)
Is it possible God gave Jacob super strenght like he did with sampson?

Thank you for your time.
God bless

Answer
These two verses from Matthew 12 need to be taken in context.  Note that Jesus had been addressing questions from Scribes and Pharisees (12:38) who were seeking a sign.  The only sign that they needed was His death, burial, and resurrection.  If they did not believe this would come to pass, as revealed in prophecy and as He told, it was like getting an unclean spirit to leave without being filled with truth.  The "wicked generation" (12:45) might seek a sign and get rid of their old ways by their own power but, without replacing the unclean spirit with a clean Spirit (that is, the Holy Spirit), they will revert to their own ways and become even more wicked (12:45).  Remember that Satan roams about like a lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8) and settling into a place to find rest where the clean Spirit is not present (12:43).

In the Genesis passage, I believe God allowed Jacob to prevail in the struggle so Jacob would ask for a blessing.  Only blessings from God count for anything and this "Man" (32:24) who struggled with Jacob was God Himself (32:28, Hosea 12:3-5).  Jacob - Israel (32:28) - was blessed and his descendents became God's chosen people.